Doug Wilson talk about IBM Workplace client technology
Writing / Michael O'Connell, Tara Hall
DeveloperWorks, I have interviewed Mr. Lotus Software CTO-DOUG Wilson, I learned about the view of the new IBM Workplace client technology, why open standards are so important for IBM, why you need to pay attention to new things that will appear.
Let us open the door! How do you see for IBM Workplace? The announcement of WorkPlace client technology makes us very exciting. It represents our completion of our centralized computing platform. It is a great perfection for the J2EE middleware system, which extends to a variety of different client devices and supports multiple programming models. As a technical provider, this is an important step in IBM, which is also a very important step for our customers and business partners. This is the prelude of technology development, one day it will completely combine us. This quarter will launch the first utility of the technology.
The client technology product plans to launch this year, but now it is greatly advanced. what does this mean? We have been intending to have a 2.0 version (this is the first part of this year) to publish the two sets of special sets of Lotus Workplace product lines, which are the rich households for Lotus Workplace Messaging and the rich house for Lotus Workplace Documents products. Designed for the client bundled a group of technologies gradually formed, which will become true driving force, attracting business partners and ISV to write applications for Workplace platforms, and extend the basics of the application to Lotus or IBM supplies. outer. We have always wished to launch these rich client functions in the market.
For the growing developer community, do you want these new technologies to emphasize something? There are many interesting things for developers, of course, in promotional materials have been emphasized, now you can find these materials. There are two places here: first is to provide deployment flexibility, that is, easy deployment and low cost costs, which is required by IT organizations, can be implemented through web applications; at the same time, The program provides a wealthy user interaction and interface expectation. We try to build a self-managed platform, which is automatically configured and maintained from the server. It is built on the server-side programming model to keep our partners and customers on server applications. The Workplace platform is now providing a high level of user interface experience. We use it for a variety of devices, such as devices like sensors and receivers on the faucet, as well as desktop applications. You may think that this ability can only come from a fully installed client application.
What can developers now do with IBM Workplace? In the first half of this year, we will release the first practical product, in the second half of the year, we will release a complete set of APIs. Lotus Workplace is basically a platform version of the developer, which makes any developers to get those capabilities used in building an application suite.
Is the main focus of the client plug-in that it can be developed, do you need to mention other important aspects? The basis of IBM Workplace is that it is a safe platform. Some important capabilities we have added to the customer platform include certification-based verification. We have also established a copy of the data store, communicating through standard protocols such as Syncml and background, can help our partners use this capability. We have also continued to extend the application deployment model of WebSphere Portal, so that ISV or customers deploy applications to rich client platforms, which will be identical to the Portal environment deploying applications. They will use Portal's page components and management tools to manage the representation and configuration of the client. This configuration is based on user policies and verification, which is an extension of Portal models on desktop applications. I don't dare to understand it, but I heard that the initial name should be Lotus Workplace, but now we have changed to IBM Workplace. Can you talk about the cause? What we are building and declaring is a series of technologies called IBM Workplace Client Technologies. These technologies will use different styles, and there is also a miniature version and a full version. The micro version is easier to split, more OEM, and includes a set of platform-oriented functions. The full version is a self-configurable version that is combined with WebSphere Portal, mainly to provide supporting application functions. There will be many practical products, some of which will come from Lotus. For Lotus Workplace Messaging and Lotus Workplace documents, these specific product names refer to the utility of the client technology platform. You will see more specially named IBM applications and application systems. They should be regarded as a group of technologies and some practical products on these technologies.
thank you very much. From the perspective of practicality, do you refer to the results of protecting a third party or partner? What is the schedule of the API that will be launched in the second half of the year? Enhance our ability to partners, let them create a very good client application, which is a continuous process. The initial version will be released in the spring and then release the next version in the second half. We can fully expect a number of versions in the next few years. This is not a short-term plan. What kind of application you can get from the first version is to see what kind of application they write. Our Notes and Domino development communities have been familiar with some services: client integration security, replication data storage, unstructured document, a specific document type built-in editor, and more. For J2EE developers, we provide a new set of service and capabilities to extend the application's feature, providing a way to write offline applications, writing a security feature, managing applications stored on the client, they will eventually Fully understand and utilize the ability of J2EE programming models. This will greatly broaden the programming models of these customers.
I guess, all of which is not open to the underlying Eclipse framework, and everyone is widely focused on moving some Lotus product lines to the J2EE environment. I want to clarify a little, move the Domino product line to J2EE is not our goal. We continue to invest in the new technology library of the Domino product line, but Domino will never be a J2EE application platform as an application platform. The Domino application platform is still a Domino application platform. As for Notes client, we have been adjusting or modernizing our product technology. We hope to improve Notes client technology based on future Workplace client technology version. The WorkPlace client technology platform will eventually become the foundation of future Notes clients. We want to advance the Notes clients, and also promote the functionality and ability of the Notes client expected to develop, which is an important investment. According to the Schedule of Notes 7, customers will be able to run Notes applications on the Workplace client technology. In subsequent Notes versions, we look forward to this client technology to fully enhance the current capacity of the current Notes client. This becomes a technical conversion. However, it is not not to transform this product line to different ideas, and Domino is not re-developed on J2EE, which is only a change in the technical way we create Notes client. It must be pointed out in our purpose. We don't transform the Domino programming model to the J2EE programming model, and do not want to limit the lives of the Domino programming model in any way. I know that there are quite a few people hope to confirm this. no doubt. We have a very broad and solid user foundation in Domino technology. We will continue to support and develop this foundation. We want to ensure that users can understand our commitment at this point.
We want to expect the developers to ask questions, for example, how to develop, test and manage applications that use IBM Workplace? You will develop your app based on Java-based development tools. IBM sold a lot of such products in the WebSphere Studio product family. But you can also build these capabilities for server platforms and client platforms using Eclipse open source development tools. You can test these capabilities using a unit test environment as part of WebSphere Studio. There is at least one way to manage these solutions, especially for Workplace client technology, which uses Portal's application management technology. We try to make it a continuation of Portal applications deployment and management model so you don't have to introduce new ways to manage these applications. The desktop view of the automatic configuration and maintenance of these applications is one of the important capabilities of client technology. We strive to make management issues very simple. The entire Rational product provides the ability to develop across the entire application development cycle, starting from a very high level to model business and application modeling, until achieving, testing, verifying, defect reporting, and maintenance source code control. This is the advanced combination of application development and management capabilities, flowing directly into the product and enterprise management, site management, and application management capabilities of Tivoli product line. We have begun to the management of the development process, and we will be directed through the management of the deployment, execution and site management process.
Do you need to add about Workplace applications and existing applications, such as J2EE or Web services? I think we may be doing some stupid things, and the WorkPlace application is characterized by the J2EE application inevitably different features. If you want to distinguish, you will say that the Workplace application is the aggregation of the component. You can collect some contents in an application: document libraries or form libraries, used to manage and coordinate team activity schedules, and their own J2EE components used to interact with transaction system in the backend. IBM Workplace put all this in a combination or aggregated application. The polymerization consists of various components, some of which may be based on J2EE, some components may be based on legacy systems, or even existing user interface technologies such as ActiveX. The advantage of the Workplace model is that it understands the components of various source representative customers in the past, as well as new programming models that can invest in the present and future. There is no rule or intention to participate in part of the Workplace portfolio application, you must start again, write everything from the beginning. As Ambuj [Goyal] said in many occasions, there is no new or alternative case. We have not replaced any application system. We want to extend the existing application system to achieve, in order to provide new capabilities to integrate those systems and new systems, forming customers tell us what they need. Can you talk more about the IBM client strategy, and how the two new WorkPlace client technologies will be introduced to this strategy in the next version? IBM client strategy recognizes two important continuation. The device type continues from RFID (Radio Frequency Identification for Business) sensor and faucet receiver, rising to the phone and PDA, continue to rise to today's desktop-based browser-based client, and finally achieve complete, rich Client capabilities. This is the range of equipment that will be supported in our client technology. IBM has enabled all customers from equipment manufacturers and mobile phone manufacturers to write custom applications to hand-held devices like Blue Martini, as well as people who write very complex offline applications for Notes and Domino. The client strategy must span all of these devices. It is also necessary to recognize that this group delivered to users is different. Another continuation is some customers who need browser-based applications. To deliver on some clients does not depend on the implementation of a specific platform, we need to support these capabilities in the application and programming model. Some customers want to deliver applications that maximize the use of browsers. In the past year, we released partial capacity of Lotus Workplace and WebSphere Portal, which uses considerable use of browsers. We release so-called Odyssey Editors, which are part of WebSphere Portal document management capabilities. We have made a set of rich component functions can be used to process tables and tables and diagrams, as well as other features that provide rich features in the browser environment. These are all all points of these two continuation. The IBM client strategy is very broad. But I want to emphasize that in the client strategy, our strategy is a strategy outside the server. Our premise is that information, security and management are maintained on the server, and by the client operate the server's behavior to deliver the experience of the application to the end user. It stems from IBM's philosophy, advantages, and knowledge of server calculations, and extends the model to the client. Based on this model, we will build a large number of applications to take advantage of this capabilities.
You mentioned the product in the launch of IBM Workplaces involved in quite a few products from different IBM software brands. What brands do you want to introduce, and what we expect from each brand? As a general principle, IBM Software Group has already implemented a well-designed plan that takes advantage of the best technology from all brand branches and uses these technologies in a variety of markets. Data Management Brand is committed to WorkPlace client technology for basic database management software and programming APIs for database management software. Pervasive Division is committed to client technology with the following basic capabilities: device management, device identification, and various different device levels, and micro version of the J2EE programming model on different sizes and categories. The Tivoli organization also supports WorkPlace client technology by providing basic components and self-configuring and maintenance software that make up software configuration. You are building topics on autonomous and self-management computing environments. Rational is committed to developing programming tools and capabilities, which can identify portal-based applications development models, popularize application development models, and so on. All brands are dedicated to technology known as IBM Workplace Client Technology, which is not specific to any brand. This is everything that cross-branded is brought to the market. In front of you mentioned the Eclipse framework. IBM solemnly promises to support open standards and open source. How does this commit to improve our products? The basis of our software strategy is such a concept: when we strictly achieve the open standard and this standard is the subject of the public, we will provide a real choice for our customers. It is important that issues related to standards can be disclosed. There are various ways to complete this task; it does not necessarily always pass standards. However, open source code is of course one of the best ways. In the industry, the movement advances the standards and factual standards forward. We can benefit from the collective skills of all personnel involved in these open source work, or benefit from the collective skills of all personnel involved in the standard work. Providing interoperability standard definitions and implementation is difficult to implement, basically cannot be done easily. Companies can introduce new technologies, but a single company cannot make it standard, and it cannot be widely adopted. It must be a partnership. The communities we participate play a very important role in completing this work. The benefits of WorkPlace client technology are very practical. In full version of Workplace client technology, component assembly, component aggregation, and platform distribution mechanisms are directly from the Eclipse open source project. In the development of the entire Eclipse 3rd edition, we have closely collaborate with the Eclipse team. The important part of WorkPlace client technology is based on Eclipse 3rd edition. We have developed an open system gateway interface specification with the equipment manufacturer alliance, which forms the basis of client technology. In terms of open standards, we have formed a standard basis with the Syncml team, around this foundation, we can complete the client to the server to the server synchronization and data synchronization in Workplace client technology. It has strongly influenced our work in the standard and open source communities.
Can you compare earlier implementations (such as standard Domino methods) with today's more and more interoperable standards? You need to remember to develop Notes and make it a schedule for the mainstream group platform. Prior to this, many standards can handle many of the issues that Notes can process. At that time, you may not build Notes on the open standard because these open standards do not exist. That is, in the past few years, some standards (like LDAP, safety standards and Syncml standards) rapidly rise and tend to mature, using them, you can actually develop software similar to Domino capabilities. Since Domino initially designed for several years, this industry has moved forward into a big step forward. Domino has given some efforts to keep up with many public standards: HTTP, LDAP, IIOP, and more. When the standard is adopted, we will not be outdated. Now we can bring the same capabilities of the J2EE community, which is proposed in our previous Domino proprietary infrastructure. We can complete this work based on standards and standard organization and open source communities. IBM WorkPlace is providing end-to-end Linux solutions. What is the latest version of Linux support? If you look at the operating system and operating system version of the IBM product, it will find that it is more extensive than other operating systems supported in the industry. In all systems, new patch levels and new versions appear very frequently, much more than we release with these versions. This is always a time and version cycle issue, as well as when the updated version of the operating system is most appropriate. We promise to keep up with the latest version, as long as it is reasonable, do not allow us to get into the point of the month.
We have core Lotus WorkPlace products for messaging, teamwork and online learning. Then we have industry-specific products: Lotus Workplace for Business Controls and Reporting and Lotus Workplace for Retail Operations. Do you think IBM Software Group tends to build products for a specific industry? IBM will participate in building solutions for specific industries. We have made this matter through our industry sector. You will see the brand of Software Group, some do not essentially build solutions, but build horizontal capabilities. When you see the number IBM Workplace for XYZ, this is a solution summarized by the Industry Solutions Group to meet the specific needs or is like Workplace for Business Controls and Reporting, these solutions. Organize is organized according to the brand to solve specific horizontal needs in the industry. Today, Workplace for Business Controls and Reporting will focus on the Sarbanes-Oxley issues in front of many customers. But the technical foundation is of course not limited thereto. That's why the product is called Workplace for Business Controls and reporting instead of SOX; it is a horizontal technology product. IBM is not in the enterprise application business. We work closely with partners and ISV and our customers to provide these solutions. Our industry sector combines partners contributed to components that contribute to IBM to form an IBM.
One thing in DeveloperWorks is a software development platform. Can you depict relationships between IBM Workplace and Software Development Platforms from the strategic height? The development tool family representing the Rational combination and the WebSphere Studio Application Development product line is a professional programmer and professional IT organization or development organization. Typically, these people work in the team and work on complex products and projects. They follow IT programming rules, their ideas are written tests and debug code, and then deploy those code into the product environment. Workplace is part of development methodology. Everything you need to build Workplace applications can be accessed from similar development environments. Although Workplace adds it, the idea that application assembly and application customization can be done at runtime. Once a set of application components and a set of application templates are deployed at runtime, Workplace provides some tools that allow system administrators, permissions users and other users to modify and customize those components, which resolves according to their needs. Business puzzle. Just like we provide tools for different roles in the development organization, we are now moving to the architecture to include powerful user communities, allowing IT organizations to apply corresponding control over infrastructure. If you review to a certain level, even when Lotus1-2-3, there are different user groups to complete different tasks. Professional developers can add some capabilities for Lotus1-2-3 by writing a customization and component models used to build spreadsheets at that time. Those developers write programs with C. If you want to go forward, some people use language like LotusScript to extend the basic capabilities or basic platforms with new features. Then use a large number of people into a variety of programmers according to the work function, and they use the template to use the template, use the more advanced capabilities to develop the application. Similarly, it has now been transferred to the business capabilities of business components, business capabilities, and Web services. We point the target to two types of people, from those who build and extend those platforms and services, those who may want to aggregate to complete the advanced features, to view the function library and say "For this specific business needs, I can use those An application packager or user of one of the components and these components, as well as people who want to aggregate the components quickly and easily. This is very helpful to us. Do you finally want to emphasize what? One of what I want to say is: IBM is now in this area. We are responding to the needs of the development and user community to extend the goals that the programming model can achieve. I believe we have followed the purpose as: consistent with our development methodology and application program model without sacrificing any of the features you want from rich client applications.
